Detroit Lions Wise to Wait out Stephen Tulloch's Contract Demands

Apparently, Stephen Tulloch is getting some bad advice.

According to MLIVE, Tulloch wants a contract that is going to pay him in the neighborhood of $6 million per season, with a hefty portion being guaranteed.

This would represent basically double the amount of his contract from last year.

OK, I'm all for a player trying to get his due in today's NFL. It is a very dangerous sport and these guys often have a very diminished quality of life later on as a result.

In all honesty, these guys are all only about a tackle away from losing it all, so why not get the most money you can for it?

But Tulloch is living in a dream world if he thinks he is going to get this kind of money.

Tulloch is drawing from D'Qwell Jackson's deal with Cleveland as inspiration, but that really is the wrong lesson to learn here. Jackson was vastly overpaid, and he had a better season than Tulloch.

Don't get me wrong, Tulloch is a good player. But given that the Lions only have about $13 million in cap space left, spending half of that on Tulloch is just not in the cards.

This will lead to one of two things happening.

One, the Lions continue to wait Tulloch out, who still hasn't visited any teams yet, and sign him to a discounted amount.

Or two, the Lions go about their business and sign the rest of the players that they need and no longer have money to spend on Tulloch.

There is no way, given the current economic climate in the NFL, that Tulloch is going to make what he wants.

Sure, the Lions don't want to lose him, but given their more pressing needs on the offensive line and in their secondary, they also can't afford to overpay for him.

The Lions are pursuing the wise path with Tulloch, and hopefully he comes to his senses sooner rather than later.